Sonya Martin, a 45 year old Nigerian woman has been jailed for two and a half years after she was found guilty of playing an important role in a payment card scam occurred in 2008.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said:

“This case demonstrates the growing expertise and reach of law enforcement in combating international cyber criminals.We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners throughout the world to investigate and prosecute those who defraud victims in the United States, wherever the perpetrators may be.”

Sonya Martin was leading a Chicago crew frauders who were withdrawing money from cash cards which were loaded with stolen money.

Hackers were able to get unauthorized access to WorldPay's systems and raised the withdrawal limit and account balance of some of the compromised accounts.These funds were then withdrawn from 2,100 ATMs in at least 280 cities worldwide, including cities in the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, and Canada.

The hacker monitored the operation through the computer system of WorldPay in real time. After the operation, the hackers tried to erase their tracks but in vain.